Hue

Hue is in central Vietnam and known for its food. It was the seat of Nguyen Dynasty emperors and the national capital from 1802–1945.

Over the course of these 150 years, there were many emperors, and - thankfully - they all liked food. A meal could consist of 50 courses. Several hundred men were recruited to hunt, fish, and gather. The best ingredients from all over Vietnam were sent in.

 One emperor, Tu Duc (until 1883) claimed to have "special dishes" for himself: No other person on earth should haven eaten "his" dish before... crazy, right!?

That's why it still is Vietnams food capital.

With that many emperors, good food and as the former capital, of course there also is the former Imperial City, where it all happened. The Royal Palace is part of the Imperial Citadel complex where all this crazy meals were served.

The Imperial Enclosure is a citadel-within-a-citadel, housing the emperor’s residence, temples and palaces, and the main buildings of state, within 6m-high, 2.5km-long walls. What’s left is only a fraction of the original – the enclosure was badly bombed during the French and American Wars, and only 20 of its 148 buildings survived.

Crossing the moat to the great wall...

Crazy many cicadas in almost all the trees!!

In case you're wondering why we're using an umbrella: we're having 40 degrees :-)

As many emperors were living in Hue, they also died in Hue. That means there are many tombs around to visit. But these aren't just tombs, they're biiiig sites! We decide to visit the tomb of Tu Duc - one of the biggest. As the emperors planed their tombs by themselves, they also used to live some time on the site with their over 100 concubines...

No, we didn't do this. But we amuse us by the wonderful aspects of these tourists ;-)

A replicate of the throne.

This is the tomb.

The tomb of his first and legitimate wife.

Like in every important city, there is a big market in Hue which we didn't want to miss.